Wash the beetroots carefully (this time you need to get all the mud off but don't peel them yet).Put them in a large saucepan with the stock.

Peel and dice the carrot and onion. Wash and finely shred the cabbage. Add all the vegetables to the saucepan with the bouquet garni and the salt and pepper.

Cover the pan and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for two hours until the beetroots are cooked.

Remove the beetroots from the soup and leave them to cool slightly. Remove the bouquet garni from the soup and discard it.

Top and tail the beetroot and peel off the skins. Dice the flesh and add three quarters of it to the soup. Purée the soup (e.g. in a liquidiser or through a seive).

Add the lemon juice to the puréed soup. Throw in the remaining diced beetroot.

Just before serving, bring the soup back to the boil (make sure it is well heated through if it has been left for a while). Serve hot in bowls, with a spoonful of sour cream dropped gently into the centre of each bowl.

Flatten the ball to make a round about 8 inches across and half an inch thick. If you use a rolling pin this helps to make it flat enough to cook evenly when it's upside down.

Cook it on a hot griddle for about 5 minutes each side.

Do the same for the other one.

This makes a heavy flat bread, more digestible if eaten when no longer piping hot. Serve with butter and cheese, or just butter (better with savoury than sweet).

What flour? Plain white wheat flour, strong white bread flour, or wholemeal flour, or any mixture of these, are all fine. Possibly if you used self-raising flour you could do it without any baking powder. For a genuine Orkney bannock it should include all or at least half barley flour or beremeal.

What raising agent? A single teaspoon of baking powder makes a thin heavy bannock. Most recipes advise 1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda and 2 tsp of cream of tartar: this makes a more spongy bread, but there's a danger it can taste too much of soda. I believe you can also use yeast.

Milk or water? I haven't tried it with water yet, but I'm sure it's fine. I think that's what the authentic expert Jim Davidson from Papay said ("non o' that milk an' what-ave yae").

Put all the ingredients into a large plastic bowl or bucket and allow to stand for 24 hours.

Strain the liquid into a jug and pour into the bottles, using a funnel if you have one.

Bottle in strong bottles (bottles designed to hold pressurised liquids, e.g glass cider bottles. The tops must be sturdy as well as the bottles). Tighten the caps again before putting away for storage.

Leave for 2 weeks at least. If the bottles stay airtight this will be drinkable for at least a year, probably many years later.

3 lbs of strong white flour1 oz salt (six full-size teaspoons, but actually a bit less would be better)1-2 oz lard1 oz of fresh yeast1 tsp of sugar1 1/2 pints of warm water (for instructions on temperature see below)

Put the yeast into a teacup and add the teaspoon of sugar. Cream well.

Weigh up the flour into a large bowl

Add the salt and rub in the lard

Make up the warm water as follows: boil the kettle. Fill the measuring jug with one third boiling water and two thirds cold water from the tap. This should give you the sort of warmth that yeast likes best. Pour one pint of this warm water into your bread mixture and stir with a knife.

Make up the remaining half pint of water to the same temperature.

Pour a little of this warm water into the cup with the yeast (which should by now have become liquid). Stir it and wait until the yeast starts to bubble merrily.

Pour the yeast liquid and the remainder of the half pint of warm water into your bread mixture. Stir well with the knife and then knead it by hand until all the flour is absorbed and you have a springy ball of dough that leaves your hands clean.

Lift it out onto a clean smooth surface and knead it hard to stretch the proteins.

Form it into a ball and put it back in the bowl. Put the bowl in a large plastic bag and leave in a warm room for an hour to rise.

An hour later, take the bread out again and knead it on the smooth clean surface as before.

Grease two large bread tins, or three 2 lb tins, or some mixture of tins and a baking sheet (if you're intending to make a weird shape of loaf or rolls).

Divide the bread into suitable portions, by pressing it with the side of your hand, rolling it back and forth, until you've cut right through it.

Put the dough in the tins. To make a plait loaf, cut one of the portions into three (rolling it with the side of your hand as before), pull/roll the three pieces into sausage shapes, and plait them on a greased baking sheet, securing the ends well together. To make a cottage loaf, divide the portion into two unequal lumps. Put the larger lump on a greased baking sheet, and put the smaller lump on top. Stick a metal skewer down the middle through both layers. To make rolls, cut the dough in the same way into halves, quarters, eighths, and place on a greased baking sheet.

Put the loaves into the large plastic bag and leave to rise for 45 minutes to one hour. When they are risen and puffy, brush the top with milk or beaten egg and bake them in a hot oven for 42 minutes.

Now make the icing. Sieve the icing sugar and cocoa into a small basin. Mix to a coating consistency with not much orange squash/juice. Orange squash gives a better flavour. If using orange juice, add about four drops of orange oil if available.

Saturday, 5 July 2008

About six slices of bread, white or brown. Stale baguettes are good but you'll need lots of slices if so!

Lots of butter (salted variety is best)

A handful of sultanas, currants or raisins

Two eggs, made up to one pint with full cream milk

Two tablespoons of demerara sugar or white sugar

Spice etc if desired.

Butter an ovenproof dish.

Cut the crusts off the slices of bread and butter them on one side.

Cut them into irregular shapes and lay some in a layer on the bottom of the dish, butter side down. Sprinkle a few sultanas etc on.

Lay another layer of bread and butter pieces, butter side up this time, and sprinkle with fruit again.

Continue until all the bread is used up.

Whisk the eggs with the milk and pour over the bread and butter layers.

Leave to soak for an hour.

Sprinkle the top with sugar, and a little spice if you like.

Bake for about 35 minutes in a moderate oven, at 350º F, 180º C, 160º for a fan oven and Gas mark 4. The pudding should be bouncy and not too runny in the middle, nor too brown at the edges.Serve with cream and/or fruit.

Thursday, 27 March 2008

What do you do when your meringue goes wrong? You got distracted and whisked the egg whites as if you were making royal icing instead of meringue. Now you've put the sugar in and it's a nice shiny white sloppy consistency. Bother.

Well, providing you still have eggs left, fear not.

1. Put the bowl of gone-wrong-meringue aside and cover. Wash your beaters.2. Start your meringue again with fresh egg-whites and sugar, reserving the yolks for later, and beat the egg-whites properly this time.3. When you have time e.g. the following morning, pre-heat the oven to gas 3 and return to the gone-wrong mixture and the egg-yolks left over from the new meringue. Find that scrap of cooking chocolate lurking in the cupboard because there isn't enough of it for any recipe, or mix equal weights of cocoa powder and melted butter. I think I used about 2oz chocolate for 2 egg yolk/white. Melt it in the microwave.4. Stir the egg-yolks into the chocolate a bit at a time and beat with a fork or electric whisk until smooth.5. Transfer the chocolate mixture into the ex-meringue mixture and mix well with electric whisk. You will get small air bubbles but it will still be runny.6. Decant into 4 or so ramekins, filling each one about 1/2 to 2/3 full. Stand in a baking tray and place in centre of oven. Cook for 25 mins or so until set. Serve immediately for best puffed-up souffle-style effect but they taste good cold too.

Saturday, 22 March 2008

Mix soy sauce, sherry and sugar in saucepan, heating until sugar is dissolved. Either thicken to use as a glaze, or use as a marinade, or just pour over chicken in a large casserole dish and place in oven 180C/Gas 4 for 45 mins until chicken is cooked.

Serve with rice and green veg.

Thicken left-over sauce as a glaze for another meal, or use to flavour other dishes.

1. Wash lentils and soak in 1 1/4 pints boiling water.2. Put in pot with salt and olive oil, cook 30-45 mins until the water is almost gone.3. Heat olive oil and butter in a saucepan, add onions, aubergine, garlic and seasoning. Cover and saute for 10 mins.4. Add tomatoes and lentils. Cook until thick, add tomato puree and check seasoning.5. Boil noodles until still stiff (10-12 mins).6. Layer noodles, parmesan and sauce in large greased dish.7. Make custard sauce using roux method. Whisk in heated milk. Beat eggs in bowl and beat sauce in slowly.8. Pour over casserole and allow it to soak to the bottom. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in flour to make a roux. Fry for 1 min. Gradually mix in milk and bring back to boil.

Make up lasagne in large flat dish, layering bolognese sauce and lasagne pasta. No need to pre-cook the pasta even if the packet claims you should. Add cheese and seasoning to the sauce and pour over the top layer of pasta. Sprinkle any remaining cheese on top. Bake at Gas 6/200C for 30-35 mins until browned and bubbling on top. Serve immediately.

Melt margarine, sugar and syrup in a pan. Add the oats and stir. Peel, core and slice the apples, place in a 2 pint pie dish with dried fruit and spice. Spread oaty mixture on top. Bake 180C/350F/Gas 4 for 35 mins.

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Take a 9"x13" baking/roasting dish. Cut a piece of foil, mould to shape of dish, then place in dish and spray or grease foil.2. Melt butter in saucepan or bowl. Stir in cocoa.3. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time.4. Stir in flour, salt and baking powder, then add vanilla essence, nuts etc.5. Pour into tin, spreading evenly. Bake 25-30 mins until moist and fudgy. Test with cake tester or fork - it should come out with sticky crumbs attached.6. Remove from pan when cool. Cut into squares. Decorate with melted white chocolate if desired.